Unlike other texts, which merely acknowledge (but neither explore nor explain) the rise of metropolitanism, this text focuses on the core aspects of metropolitanism—giving students what they need to be knowledgeable and effective metropolitan citizens. Specifically, it provides cutting-edge insights into the nature and effects of two simultaneous contests—the competition among several hundred metropolitan regions and the competition within any single metropolitan area. The text thus serves not only as an introduction to the discipline, but also as a handbook—an owner's manual—for participating in both aspects of the metropolitan chase within the United States.